Rumored Relationship
by phoenixfirekitsune
Summary: A certain rumor leaves Tezuka wondering as to exactly what Fuji means to him. shonen-ai: Perfect Pair.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 1

"Fujiko-chan!"

Fuji stumbled slightly as he was suddenly glomped from behind. "Good morning, Eiji."

Eiji smiled brightly and continued to cling to Fuji as they entered their classroom. "So, is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"That you're dating Tezuka, nya! Why didn't you tell me?!"

Fuji tilted his head to the side. "Saa, it must have slipped my mind. Where did you hear that from, Eiji?"

"Eto…" The acrobat looked thoughtful for a minute. "Momo heard it from Kamio who heard it from Ibu who heard it from Gakuto who heard it from Akutagawa who heard it from Atobe."

Fuji blinked. "Why did Ibu-kun hear it from Hyotei?"

"I think they were at the street tennis courts and Gakuto kind of yelled it. Some of the Fudomine members were there at the time."

As the pair reached their desks, Fuji gently tried to pry Eiji's arms off of him which only caused the other to cling to the tensai even harder. "Fuji~!" Eiji whined, making sure his arms were firmly locked around the shorter boy's neck. "You didn't answer me!"

"Eiji, the teacher is about to start class."

The redhead pouted but released Fuji so that they could take their seats. "We're not done talking yet, nya!" He whispered as the teacher began the day's lesson.

Fuji chuckled quietly and turned his head to stare out the window. Blue eyes opened slightly before slowly closing once again. 'So Tezuka and I are dating now. I wonder if he knows that.'

* * *

"Tezuka, are you ready to go to lunch?"

The tennis captain looked up at Oishi standing beside his desk and stood himself. "Aa. Let's go."

As the two walked toward the cafeteria, a girl suddenly stepped in front of Tezuka, stopping their progress.

"Tezuka-sama! I don't care if you are taken now! I still love you!"

Oishi blinked as the girl ran off in tears. "What was that about?"

Tezuka shrugged, and the two continued to their regular table.

"Oishi~!" Eiji called out as he dragged Fuji over to their table. "Did Tezuka tell you?"

"Tell me what, Eiji?"

"That he's dating Fuji!"

Oishi choked on his food. "What?! Since when?"

Eiji plopped down next to his doubles partner and nodded while Fuji took his seat next to Tezuka. "So he didn't tell you. Fuji didn't tell me either. Isn't that mean?" He pouted at Fuji across the table. "How could you not tell me?! I'm your best friend! I should be the first person to know immediately after it happens!"

Tezuka glared at Fuji. "Is this what that girl was yelling about?"

Fuji paused in his eating to glance at Tezuka. "Girl?"

"A girl stopped us in the hallway and said that she still loved Tezuka even if he was taken." Oishi explained.

"Really?" Fuji laughed. "That's interesting."

Tezuka abruptly stood, grabbing the tensai's arm and yanking him out of his chair.

"Tezuka, what-"

"We need to talk." The captain pulled his singles two player out of the cafeteria and into an empty classroom. "What did you do?"

"I'm hurt, Tezuka." Fuji pouted. "What makes you think that I'm behind this rumor?"

"Aren't you always?"

Fuji waved that statement off. "That's unimportant. But I swear to you that I didn't start this one."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Are you sure?"

Blue eyes locked with framed hazel ones.

"I promise that I did not start this rumor."

The taller boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "No matter how it started, we need to end it."

"Why?"

"Fuji, we are not dating."

"We could be."

"Fuji."

"Fine. You do know that this won't be easy to do, right?"

"Why not?"

"By the end of the day, the entire school will think that we're a couple. Oh, and at least Fudomine and Hyotei have heard the same rumor."

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched.

"Mm. Eiji told me that Fudomine overheard it from Hyotei, and I'm not sure where Hyotei heard it from."

"Any idea how to end this rumor?"

"Break up with me."

"We're not dating."

"But everyone thinks we are."

"Fine. We're breaking up now." Tezuka turned to leave but stopped as Fuji's hand closed around his wrist.

"That won't work. No one will believe that we broke up just like that. To make it official, you'll have to dump me in front of someone."

"Why?"

"Because you're the one who doesn't want to be my boyfriend."

"We're not boyfriends."

"But I don't mind being your boyfriend. You're the one who wants to end the rumor. I don't mind it."

"Fuji, we are not dating."

The shorter boy sighed and released Tezuka's wrist. "If you really want the rumor to end, then break up with me at tennis practice. There will be enough witnesses to spread the word if you do it then." Fuji moved to leave but paused with his hand on the door handle, head bowed. "Tezuka, I'll make this clear to you right now. I love you. I have since we were first years. No matter what you decide to do at tennis practice will change that. I'll still love you."

Tezuka stared as Fuji left the room, sliding the door shut behind him.

'Damn. Now what do I do?'

Tbc…


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 2

For once, Tezuka chose to ignore the lesson that was being taught. He instead worked on figuring out the best course of action to take when class ended and tennis practice began.

'Why did Fuji have to tell me that?' Tezuka scowled down at his textbook. 'He's a good friend, but I don't like him like that. At least, I don't think I do. This is entirely that rumor's fault. I don't even see how anyone could believe it.'

By the end of class, Tezuka still had not decided what to do.

"Is something wrong?" Oishi asked as he saw that his friend seemed distracted while they were packing up their things. "Did you and Fuji have a fight earlier?"

"Not exactly."

"It's about the rumor, right? You don't like the fact that the two of you are dating is public."

Tezuka remained silent.

"Don't worry about it." Oishi placed a hand on Tezuka's shoulder. "It's not that big of a surprise. All of the Regulars had already figured out that you and Fuji were dating even before this rumor."

Hazel eyes widened slightly in surprise before narrowing. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the most obvious thing that everyone first noticed is how the two of you always manage to be next to each other. If we're at tennis practice and neither of you have a game or are running, then Fuji always stands to your left. According to Inui, Fuji has always stood on your left side, but ever since you got hurt in first year, he's stood twenty percent closer than before that incident. He already stood ten percent closer to you than other people, so now it's thirty percent. Inui's the only one that realized exactly how much closer he stood though. The rest of us knew that Fuji stood closer to you, but not that exactly."

"That was in first year?"

"Yeah. I thought that it was just because he didn't want you to get hurt any more than you already were. Eiji was actually the first one to work out that there was another reason for it. He said that he thought it was cute how Fuji always gets angry whenever anyone else stands to your left."

"He does?"

"Well, Eiji says he does. I've never realized that, but they are best friends, so it's no wonder that Eiji can read Fuji better than I can. Oh, that's the other thing that we used to figure out that you were together with Fuji."

"What is?"

"I don't even think that the two of you realize that you do it."

"Do what, Oishi?"

"Most of the conversations between the two of you aren't actually conversations. It's mainly silence with a few words every so often. A lot of the times you don't even use words. You just look at Fuji, and he knows what you're thinking and vice-versa. We've seen you two have a completely silent conversation all throughout practice before. That's why the Regulars always try to keep the line of sight between you and Fuji clear. Haven't you noticed that even if the two of you are on opposite sides of the court none of the Regulars stand between you? Even if one of us is talking to either of you, we always stand off to the side instead of directly in front of you. Well, except for Echizen."

"How long?"

"Eh?" Oishi blinked in confusion. "How long what, Tezuka?"

"How long have you thought that Fuji and I were dating?"

"Well, Eiji figured it out first in the middle of first year. Then he told me. Inui overhead and told us the statistics I told you before. Then he told Taka-san, Eiji, and me the probability of you two being together. Momoshiro and Kaido figured it out towards the end of last year. Surprisingly, Kaido figured it out first. Echizen figured it out about a month ago."

Tezuka frowned. "Why didn't anyone say anything?"

"Because neither of you did. None of us wanted to say anything if you two didn't tell us yourselves. All of us agreed not to say anything, so you can be sure that none of the Regulars started this rumor."

"Tezuka-sama!"

Both tennis players turned to look at the doorway. A group of at least ten girls stood just outside of the classroom. The leader of the group steeped inside and addressed the captain.

"Tezuka-sama, while we are saddened by the fact that your heart is no longer available, we wish you happiness in your relationship with Fuji-san." That said the group left, each girl calling out her own well wishes.

"You really do have a lot of fangirls, don't you?" Oishi stared. "There are going to be a lot of spectators at today's practice."

Tezuka stood and left the room with Oishi following. "Why do you say that?"

"Simple reasoning." Inui stated, popping up from out of nowhere.

Oishi jumped at the other's sudden appearance. "Inui! Don't do that!"

The data player merely smirked before turning towards Tezuka. "According to my data, you and Fuji have the greatest amount of fans out of the Regulars. Because it is now public knowledge that the two of you are in a romantic relationship together, the probability of both fanclubs coming to practice in order to witness both of you is ninety-eight point seven percent. One-hundred percent chance that they will be waiting for either a verbal or visual confirmation of your relationship with Fuji. Sixty-eight point three percent chance that what is witnessed at practice will influence whether they will try to fight for either of you."

"Wait a minute, you mean some of them might actually try to break Tezuka and Fuji up?" Oishi asked concerned.

Inui nodded. "The most likely to do so would be Fuji's fanboys."

"Fanboys?"

"Fuji has the most males in his fanclub out of the Regulars. It actually contains more males than the fanclubs of some of the more popular female students. These males will be watching to see if Tezuka is an appropriate boyfriend for Fuji. If it seems that they could treat Fuji better, then there is an eighty-seven point four percent chance of them trying to break the two up."

"That's horrible! How could they even think like that? Tezuka is Fuji's boyfriend! Just because they're not public about their relationship doesn't mean that either of them is being treated badly. And Fuji's been in love with Tezuka for years!"

"True. But while the Regulars are able to discern the subtle details that show their relationship, most others do not know either well enough to pick up on them. The non-Regular members are slightly more aware than the rest, but most just see them as close friends. Thanks to this rumor, though, they will most likely see that the reasons why they believed two to be such close friends are actually the few instances that they show their relationship in public. Today's practice will confirm the relationship and its seriousness for the entire school."

Tezuka listened silently as Oishi and Inui continued to discuss how the student body seemed to perceive his relationship with Fuji. 'Do we really seem that much like a couple? The Regulars believed us to be a couple even before this. The third years have thought so since we were first years. Fuji said that he loves me, but I never noticed him acting differently. Then again, if he's loved me since first year, he might have already been in love with me before I was able to read him so well. When did I even begin to know him well enough to know what he's thinking?'

As they neared the courts, Tezuka saw what seemed to be every student surrounding the fence. 'It looks like Fuji was right about there being enough witnesses.'

The trio of third years entered the locker room to find the rest of the Regulars changing and began to do the same.

"Nya! Oishi!" Eiji bounced over to his doubles partner. "Did you see the crowd around the courts?"

"It's huge!" Momoshiro called out. "Every single person in the school must be here!"

"There really are a lot of people." Kawamura stated nervously. "Why are they all here?"

"They're probably curious about buchou and Fuji-senpai. Not that you can blame them."

"Fssh. Nosy bastard." Kaido hissed.

"What was that, mamushi?!"

"Go warm up."

The locker room fell silent as Tezuka turned to face them. "Oishi, make sure everyone practices. Fuji, stay behind."

The Regulars hesitated until Echizen pulled his hat low over his eyes and walked out the door. "Mada mada dane."

When the door closed behind the last Regular, Tezuka stood in front of Fuji who was sitting on a bench head bowed.

"Did you want something, Tezuka?" Fuji's soft voice seemed loud in the silent room.

"Why do you love me?"

The tensai looked up and blinked in surprise. "What?"

"You said that you've loved me since first year. Why?"

"Do I need a reason to?"

"Fuji."

"Tezuka, I didn't fall in love with you because of one specific reason. I love you just because you're you." Fuji stood and locked eyes with Tezuka. "It's okay if you don't love me back. I never expected you to."

Tezuka frowned as blue eyes slid closed and thought that the smile adorned on the smaller boy's face seemed more forced than usual.

"Come on." Fuji walked past Tezuka, smile firmly in place. "Let's go end this rumor."

Tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 3

As Tezuka and Fuji entered the courts, tension filled the area. The spectators seemed to be hyper-aware of every movement either of the two singles players made. For the first half of practice, things proceeded normally. First years picked up balls, second and third years practiced against each other, and the Regulars followed Inui's special training menu. It was half-way through practice when Fuji approached his captain who was standing at the far end of the courts, away from the spectators.

"Ne, Tezuka." He began. "I think the students are getting restless waiting for something to happen. Now would probably be a good time to make a move, especially since we've got their attention right now."

Looking over at the crowd, Tezuka saw that all eyes seemed to be locked on him and the tensai. Most seemed frustrated that the two of them were too far away to hear their conversation. "So all we have to do is show them something that will satisfy their curiosity about this rumor?"

Fuji nodded and looked down at the ground by his feet. "Yeah. That should be enough."

Tezuka sighed but took a step closer to Fuji, left hand raised.

* * *

"Nya, Oishi!" Eiji tugged on his partner's sleeve. "What do you think those two are talking about?"

Oishi turned to look where Eiji had been staring and spotted Tezuka and Fuji at the far end of the courts. "It's none of our business, Eiji. Come on. Let's keep on practicing."

"Why? No one else is."

"Eh?" Looking around the court, Oishi saw that no one was even bothering to pretend to practice. Most club members had been shooting glances towards either Tezuka or Fuji all practice, but they now were openly staring. "Oi! Practice isn't over yet!"

"But, Oishi~! It looks like something's going to happen!"

"Come on, Oishi-senpai." Momoshiro stood next to the doubles players. "Aren't you even just a little bit curious about their relationship? This could be a good chance to find out what's going on with buchou and Fuji-senpai."

"Momoshiro is correct." Inui called over. "This is a rare chance to get personal data on the two of them."

"Does Fujiko look sad to any of you?" Eiji asked worriedly. "He's not even smiling right now. Fujiko always smiles! Did something happen?"

"I think that Tezuka might be upset about the rumor." Oishi fretted. "He was distracted in class, and when I asked if he and Fuji had an argument, he said 'not exactly.' But everything's probably okay. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Ah."

The Regulars looked down at their first year player. "What's wrong, Echizen?"

The boy pointed across the courts. "Is buchou going to hit Fuji-sempai?"

"Eh?!"

* * *

Fuji jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his cheek. "Tezuka…"

Tezuka lightly caressed the tensai's cheek, rubbing his thumb gently over the soft skin. "One date."

"What?"

"We can go on one date. Then we can decide whether or not to prove this rumor false."

Fuji blinked in surprise. "Really?"

The taller boy nodded. "I won't say I love you, because I don't know if I do, but I can give you a chance to have a relationship like you want. It's the least I can do."

Blue eyes sparkled happily as Fuji gave Tezuka the most beautiful smile that the captain had ever seen. "Thank you. That's all that I wanted."

"What do you want to do?"

"Since we don't have school or practice tomorrow, pick me up at my house at noon. We can spend the day together."

"Alright. Is there anything specific that you want to do?"

"Not really. As long as you spend the day with me, I'll be happy." Fuji glanced off to the side and giggled.

"What?"

The tensai leaned into the hand that still rested on his cheek. "I think you just did the opposite of what you originally intended to do. This is just going to start more rumors instead of ending the original one."

Tezuka looked around and glared when he saw that all eyes were concentrated on the two of them. "Everybody, fifty laps around the courts now!"

Fuji giggled again as the members scrambled off the courts. He took Tezuka's hand from his cheek and squeezed it lightly before letting go. "Guess I better start running too."

"You don't have to run."

"Maa, Tezuka, I'm the reason everyone got distracted. If I hadn't come over here, then everyone would have still been practicing. You don't want people to think that you're playing favorites, do you? Besides, I still owe Eiji a talk, so we might take a little longer than usual."

Tezuka watched as Fuji ran off to join the others but noticed that the other boy's pace was slightly slower than their pace. As soon as Fuji began his laps, Eiji's pace slowed to match the tensai's, and both allowed the other members to pass until they were in the back of the group.

"Well~?!"

Fuji tilted his head at the acrobatic player's question. "Well, what, Eiji?"

"Fuji! You know what I mean! What's going on with you and Tezuka? It looked like he was going to hit you, and you still haven't told me anything!" Eiji pouted cutely. "You're so mean."

Fuji laughed. "What do you want me to tell you then?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were together with Tezuka?! I mean, we're best friends. Didn't you trust me to keep it secret?" The redhead sniffed lightly and looked at the ground, eyes watering. "I know I'm loud, but I wouldn't tell anyone anything you wanted to keep secret." Eiji's voice was a mere whisper that Fuji had to strain to hear.

Fuji immediately came to a halt, grabbing the other's wrist to stop his friend as well. He quickly pulled the acrobat into a tight hug. "Eiji, you're my best friend. I would trust you with my life. Please don't cry. In fact, I'll tell you a secret about me and Tezuka, okay?"

Eiji sniffed and rubbed his eyes dry before clinging tightly to the shorter boy. "Really?"

"Mm. Hold on for a second though. Tezuka!" Fuji called sweetly to the only boy still on the courts. "Eiji's not feeling well. Is it okay if I take him away from practice?"

'What happened to not playing favorites?' Tezuka thought but nodded in acceptance.

Fuji led Eiji into the locker room and sat the boy down next to him on a bench.

"Fuji~!" The redhead whispered even though no one else could hear either of them. "You lied! I'm not sick, nya."

"I didn't lie. I said that you weren't feeling well."

"But I'm not sick!"

"Did I say you were? You're feeling upset, so you're not feeling well. I never once said that you were sick." The tensai smiled brightly. "See? I didn't lie."

Eiji gave a soft giggle.

"Saa, that's much better. A happy Eiji is a lot more fun than a sad Eiji."

Eiji gave Fuji a smile and clung to the other boy's arm. "So what were you going to tell me?"

"Well, to start off, the reason I never told you about my relationship with Tezuka is because we haven't been together as long as everybody thinks we have. We actually got together pretty recently."

"Really? But I thought that you two had been together since first year, and the rumor started because one of you said or did something to let another person know. So I was upset because you told someone else and not me and-"

"Eiji." Fuji cut the boy off before he could upset himself again. "We got together recently and not in first year, and you are the first person I've told about us. I can't even think of anyone I would ever tell before you."

"Oh. Okay then. Wait. Exactly how recently is recently?"

"Today recently."

"Nya?!" The doubles player looked at Fuji incredulously. "You mean you two got together this morning and there's already a rumor?"

"Actually, we got together after the rumor started. Sort of."

"Seriously?! Wait, what do you mean by sort of?"

"Saa…" Fuji ran his hand through his hair. "Well, Tezuka was upset about the rumor. That's what we talked about during lunch. He thought that I started it, but now knows that I didn't. He wanted to end the rumor though, so I told him to break up with me during practice if he really wanted it to end."

"What?!" Eiji screeched. "But-"

Fuji held a finger up to Eiji's lips to quiet the other boy. "Calm down and let me finish."

The redhead nodded, and Fuji removed his hand.

"During practice, Tezuka hadn't made a move yet, so I went over to him so that I could just get it over with. That's when we sort of got together. Tezuka said that we could try having a relationship. We're going on a date tomorrow."

Eiji stared at the tensai with wide eyes. "So you two aren't even officially boyfriends yet."

Fuji shook his head. "Sadly, no. I told Tezuka earlier that I've loved him since first year. I think that's what convinced him to give the dating thing a try."

Eiji shook his head in disbelief. "I don't believe his. I would have sworn that you two had been together since first year. I mean, all of the Regulars thought that you two were the oldest couple out of us. We thought that you two got together before Oishi and I did."

"Well, you two have been together for a while."

"Yup! Since the beginning of second year. Then there's Inui and Kaido since they started playing doubles together. Heck, even Momo and Echizen have gotten together."

"And Taka-san got together with Akutsu about two months ago."

"Right. And Taka-san got together with Ak-What?! I didn't know that! Akutsu?! As in Yamabuki's Akutsu? The guy who hurt Ochibi by serving rocks at him? That Akutsu?"

"Mmhm. They seem to be getting along pretty well too."

"Well…That's good. And that means that Taka-san isn't the only one alone. Does anyone else know?"

"Inui might because he's Inui."

"Right. Right. Inui knows everything. Except for you and Tezuka. He thinks that you two got together in first year too. All of the Regulars think that."

"Really? That's interesting. Tezuka didn't even know that I liked him until today."

"So this rumor was a good thing?"

"I think so. I just need to pay a visit to Hyotei soon."

"Hyotei?"

"Mm. I need to have a talk with Atobe about how certain rumors get started."

At that moment, the locker room door opened and the other Regulars filed in.

"Eiji!" Oishi quickly looked over his boyfriend who was still clinging to Fuji. "Are you okay? Do you feel sick? Do you want to go to the nurse?"

"Nya. I'm okay now, Oishi. Fuji helped me feel better." Eiji wrapped his arms around Fuji's shoulders in a tight hug and giggled.

The vice-captain sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I was worried that something was wrong."

"Nope! Everything is A-okay!"

Fuji gently unwrapped Eiji's arms from around him and stood. "We'd better start changing before it gets too late."

"Fujiko?"

"What is it, Eiji?"

"Do you want to go shopping today?" Eiji's eyes glittered as they flicked over to Tezuka, whose back was turned, and back to Fuji. "I feel like going to the mall."

Fuji smiled and nodded. "Sure. It sounds like fun."

"Yay! Let's go! I'll call you later, Oishi!" The redhead grabbed the smaller boy's wrist, dragging him out of the locker room before anyone else could join them.

"Huh?" Momoshiro blinked at the door. "They're gone already? I was going to get Eiji-senpai to buy burgers again today. Do you have any idea why they ran off like that, Oishi-senpai?"

Oishi shook his head. "I don't, but we should probably leave them alone. Who knows what the two of them are planning."

Tezuka gave an inaudible sigh as he felt a headache coming on. 'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'

Tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 4

Eiji was practically bouncing beside Fuji as they entered a shop filled with all types of clothing. "Ne, ne? Where are you and Tezuka planning to go tomorrow?"

Fuji browsed through one of the racks of clothes, shrugging. "We don't have any specific plans. Tezuka is going to pick me up at noon, and we're going from there."

"So something casual but nice and sexy."

"That sounds about right. So that means no leather."

Eiji giggled. "Too bad. You would look really good in leather pants. Oh! Try these on!"

Fuji nodded and took the pair of white jeans the acrobat handed him. As he headed towards the dressing rooms, the tensai snagged a shirt off of a rack as well. He quickly changed into the clothes and stepped out to show the other boy. "What do you think?"

"Wow." Eiji looked his best friend up and down. "Get that outfit. You look really hot in it."

Fuji looked himself over in the full-length mirror. The white jeans Eiji had handed him tightly hugged his lower body in all the right places. The shirt he wore was a long-sleeved button-up shirt that was a shade of blue that matched his eyes. He had only buttoned up the shirt half-way, leaving a good portion of his chest exposed. "Do you really think it looks good?"

Eiji nodded. "It's perfect. Especially if you leave the shirt open like that tomorrow." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar flash of red and quickly pushed Fuji into the dressing room, slamming the door shut behind them both.

"Eiji, what-"

"Shh!" The redhead peeked out the door carefully. "It's Gakuto and Akutagawa from Hyotei."

Fuji peeked over Eiji's shoulder and indeed saw Hyotei's acrobat and sleeping beauty.

"Gakuto…" Jirou trailed off into a yawn. "Why are we here again?"

"To get you some new clothes of course." Gakuto grabbed the volley specialist's wrist to keep him from settling down on the floor to sleep. "Then Atobe might finally stop staring at himself and stare at you instead."

"But I'm sleepy~. I'm supposed to be taking a nap in Kei-chan's bed right now."

The acrobat looked at Jirou incredulously. "You mean Atobe actually lets you sleep in his bed?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"So you actually sleep in his bed and call him 'Kei-chan,' and he still doesn't get that you like him?"

Jirou merely yawned and shrugged.

"Stupid, conceited…"

The Hyotei played moved away from the dressing rooms, unaware that a pair of Seigaku players was listening in on their conversation.

"Well, that was interesting." Fuji reached over Eiji's shoulder and closed the door.

"Nya! I didn't know that Akutagawa liked Atobe." Eiji slipped the shirt off of Fuji as the tensai unbuttoned it and folded it neatly.

"It's pretty obvious if you know where to look." Fuji quickly put on his uniform shirt and began sliding the jeans off of his legs. "Akutagawa always gets excited about Atobe the most. Not to mention the fact that he ends up sleeping on Atobe more than anyone else."

"Really?"

"Mm. It's always happens whenever they're at the street courts. It's cute how Akutagawa practically curls up in Atobe's lap. Unfortunately, for all that Atobe's Insight lets him see, he's completely oblivious to Akutagawa's feelings."

Eiji took the jeans from the tensai and folded them as well while Fuji finished dressing. "That's too bad. Akutagawa is actually kind of cute. He reminds me of a puppy!"

Fuji giggled and took the clothes from Eiji, heading off to pay for them. "A puppy?"

"Yup! He just falls asleep wherever he is when he's tired and is all jumpy when he truly wakes up. It's just like whenever any other puppy wakes up and wants to play."

"Saa, that's true. He is fun to play with too. I don't know why Atobe doesn't just accept him. After all, he already sleeps in Atobe's bed and lap."

"Is your friend getting a puppy?"

The tennis players looked towards the woman who was ringing up Fuji's clothes and giggled.

"Well, it's more like a trial period right now." Fuji smiled brightly. "The puppy already loves him, but he doesn't realize exactly how much the puppy means to him yet."

The woman nodded. "Choosing a pet is a big decision, but sometimes the pet ends up choosing you. I'm sure that your friend will realize how much that puppy means to him soon." She handed the tensai a bag with his clothes and waved as the boys left the store.

"It looks like your analogy is pretty accurate, Eiji." Fuji smiled.

Eiji giggled. "I guess it is. That lady didn't even know we were talking about a person."

Fuji checked the time on his cell phone and sighed. "It already seven. Do you want to sleep over at my house tonight?"

"Really? Yeah! Let me just call my parents." Eiji quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed home. "Kaa-san, it's okay if I spend the night at Fuji's, right?...I'll be home before noon tomorrow…Eto, I think that I still have clothes at Fuji's." A quick glance towards Fuji confirmed his statement. "Yup. Fujiko says I do…Well, I sleep over at his place often enough, and he stays with us a lot. That's why I have a set of his clothes in my room too…We have not had a sleepover recently. It's been a long time since we've had a sleepover…It has to been a long time! It's been three weeks!...Okay! Bye-bye!" He hung up and smiled brightly. "Kaa-san says hi and to come over for dinner soon."

The tensai nodded and led the other to his house. He opened the door and moved into the kitchen. "Kaa-san and Nee-san are gone for the night. They went back to Chiba to visit some friends, so we're on our own. What do you want for dinner?"

"Let's make cookies!"

"You want cookies for dinner?"

"Not just cookies. Let's order a pizza and make cookies while we wait."

"Okay. I'll order the pizza while you get the things for making cookies out. You know where everything is."

"Hoi! Hoi! Wait, I'll pay for half of the pizza."

"Don't worry about it. Kaa-san left me money for food."

Are you sure?"

"Positive."

By the time Fuji returned from ordering the pizza, Eiji had already started mixing the cookie dough and had flour on his face and in his hair.

"Eiji, I think there's more flour on you than in the cookie dough."

Eiji laughed and threw a handful of flour on the singles player. "Now it's on you too."

The doorbell rang as the two were getting ready to put the tray of cookies in the oven.

"I'll get the door, Eiji. Put the cookies on the top shelf of the oven, okay?"

"Got it!"

Fuji opened the door and paid for the pizza while the man blinked in surprise.

"Saa, I wonder why he seemed confused."

Eiji smiled. "It's probably because you're covered in flour. And we only had three flour wars this time too." The acrobat took the pizza and slipped it onto the bottom shelf of the oven to keep warm. "Go take a shower. I'll clean up."

"I can help you with that."

"Nope! You bought dinner, so I'll clean up."

"Technically, Kaa-san bought dinner, so-"

"Go!"

Fuji ran upstairs laughing. He quickly showered and returned to the kitchen. "I'm done, Eiji. You can go shower now."

"Okay!" Eiji had amazingly been able to make the kitchen free of flour in the time it took the tensai to shower. When he came down after his own shower, Fuji had set the table and was waiting for him to start eating. "Yay! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!"

The two gossiped as they ate, covering the games all of the tennis teams they'd played against and, most importantly, who was dating whom on the junior high circuit. They had removed the cookies from the oven earlier, so by the time the pizza was gone, the cookies were finished cooling.

"Ne, Fuji?" Eiji asked, nibbling on a cookie. "Do you really have no idea about where you're going tomorrow?"

Fuji tilted his head to the side in thought. "Well, I have a couple of ideas, but nothing's set in stone."

"Isn't there anywhere special you always wanted to go with Tezuka? Like, the perfect date?"

"Not really. I never actually expected to have a date with him, so anywhere is fine as long as we're together."

"Yeah. That's how I was when I first started dating Oishi. Oishi! Nya! I forgot that I'm supposed to call him!"

Fuji laughed as the acrobatic player began panicking. "Calm down, Eiji. It's only nine o'clock. Go ahead and call him while I clean up."

"Okay, but I won't take long."

Fuji washed the dishes then sat down on the couch in the living room, staring at his phone. 'Should I call him? I want to, but I'll be seeing him tomorrow. He might not like it if I call him now. Maybe I should-' Fuji jumped as his phone suddenly rang, a distinctive tune filling the air. 'I guess that settles my problem. That's Tezuka's ringtone.'

"Hello?"

"Fuji." Tezuka's voice sounded out from the other end of the line.

"Tezuka. Did you need something?"

"…"

"Tezuka?"

"Sleep well."

Fuji stared at his phone as he heard a dial tone replace Tezuka on the line. He laughed lightly. 'That's definitely my Tezuka.' He then ran upstairs to his room and tackled Eiji, who had just gotten off the phone with Oishi, onto the bed.

"Gah! Fuji~!" The redhead grabbed a pillow and whacked the tensai over the head with it.

Fuji laughed before grabbing another pillow and began the traditional pillow fight he always had with his best friend.

Tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 5

After an early lunch the next morning, Eiji departed from Fuji's house in order to give the tensai time to prepare himself for his date with Tezuka.

Fuji looked himself over in the mirror, smoothing out his hair and clothing. When he heard the doorbell ring, he quickly ran downstairs and took a deep breath before opening the door. "Hello, Tezuka. You're right on time."

The other boy stared at him blankly.

"Tezuka?"

Tezuka mentally shook his head and forced himself to look at Fuji's face, not the expanse of skin the shorter boy had on display. "It's nothing. Are you ready to go?"

Fuji smiled and nodded happily. "I thought that we could go see a movie first. There's this new horror film that I've been wanting to see but haven't been able to. Do you mind?"

Tezuka found the movie boring within the first ten minutes. However, while the film could not hold his attention, something else did. That something was currently snuggled against his left side. Fuji had pushed up the armrest separating their two seats and latched onto Tezuka. Tezuka could feel the tensai's warmth radiate through the light jacket he was wearing and focused on the other boy instead of the movie. 'I don't see how he finds this entertaining. The plot is unoriginal, the actors subpar, and the situation completely unrealistic. There's absolutely no point to-'

Fuji squeaked and buried his face in Tezuka's chest, clinging to the bespectacled boy's shirt tightly.

Tezuka wrapped an arm around the smaller boy's waist and ran his fingers through Fuji's hair gently. 'Okay. Maybe this movie isn't that bad.'

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Fuji asked when the lights finally came back on.

The taller boy shrugged. "It had it's good points. What do you want to do next?"

"Hmm…Well, why don't we go play some pool for a while?"

"Unlike the others, I actually know beforehand that you're a tensai at pool."

Fuji chuckled. "Maa, but Tezuka's good at everything, so we should be pretty evenly matched. Besides, this way I might actually win against you at something." The smile Fuji gave his captain distracted Tezuka long enough for Fuji to drag the other boy into a pool hall.

Much like in the movie theatre, Tezuka had trouble paying attention to the game instead of Fuji. The jeans his singles two player was wearing were tight to begin with, but they conformed even more to the boy's lower body as Fuji leaned over to shoot. Whenever they were on opposites sides of the table, Fuji's unbuttoned shirt allowed Tezuka to see nearly all of Fuji's chest as well.

After playing a few games, in which Tezuka lost every one, the two tennis players decided to walk through the park. Stopping by the tennis courts, they were enjoying watching two young boys, who were no more than six years old, practice.

"They're not too bad for being so young." Fuji grinned at Tezuka. "Don't you think so?"

"The need to work on their grips."

"They're only children. Besides, it looks like they're just beginners."

Tezuka was about to respond when a shout from the courts caught both of the Seigaku player's attention.

"Oi! Get lost, brats! The courts are for real players, not amateurs like you."

Tezuka and Fuji both frowned as they spotted two teenagers bullying the children on the court. The frowns become even more pronounced when the older of the two bullies served a ball close to one of the children's ear, causing the boy to fall to the ground in fright.

"Heh." The bully smirked. "Next time I won't miss."

"Tennis isn't something to be used to hurt others."

The bullies stared as Tezuka and Fuji strolled onto the court. "Who the hell are you?"

Both ignored the bullies as they checked on the children.

"Are you okay?" Fuji crouched down so that he was eye-level with the boy on the ground.

"I think so."

"Saa, that's a relief." Fuji smiled in reassurance. "Ne, do you two mind if we borrow your rackets?

The children shook their heads and handed their rackets to Fuji who passed one to Tezuka.

Tezuka glanced at Fuji's clothing. "Are you able to play like that?"

"Mm. If it's these two I am. I recognize them. They're the Sasabes. Echizen's played and won against the younger and his father before in tennis and beach volleyball. The other is his older brother, remember? He was beaten by Echizen as well, and says that he's called 'The Puppet Master of Meguro.' They won't be a problem for either of us."

"Oi!" Sasabe scowled. "That's pretty big talk for a couple of losers like you. If you're so confident, then why don't you prove it in a match? The two of us against you two in a one-set doubles match."

Fuji nodded. "That's fine."

There was no contest. Tezuka and Fuji defeated the two Sasabe bothers six games to zero without giving up a single point. Neither had to use any of their special moves or even broke a sweat. They returned the borrowed rackets as the Sasabes ran away.

"That family never learns." Fuji sighed. "They think that they can do whatever they want just because they have money. At least Atobe occasionally does something nice, and he can actually play tennis."

Tezuka nodded in agreement. "They shouldn't play tennis if they're just going to hurt others with it."

"Unfortunately, there are some people who just don't understand that. No matter what sport they're in, that type of people always cause violence." Fuji looked away, thinking about their first year in junior high. "I hate people like that."

'He's still angry at that senpai who hurt my arm.' Tezuka realized, eyes softening. 'He's still worried about me.' Tezuka saw that the tensai was not even trying to smile. He took the other's chin in his hand and gently forced the boy to look at him.

"Tezuka, what-" Fuji gasped as Tezuka's lips pressed lightly against his own.

Tezuka pulled away slightly. "I'm fine now, Syuusuke." He turned away. "Come on. Let's have dinner now."

Fuji brushed his fingers over his lips. "Tezuka, why did you do that? Not that I'm complaining of course."

"I realized something."

"Oh really? What exactly did you realize?"

"That you were still angry at the senpai who hurt me and worried that I might get hurt again."

"Tezuka, if you just realized that, then you haven't been paying much attention. Besides, the entire team feels the same way."

"I know, but that's not the important part."

"Then what is?"

Tezuka turned to look at Fuji. "I just realized that I love you."

"Really?" Fuji's eyes sparkled happily, and he wrapped his arms around his captain's neck. "Why?"

"Do I need a reason to?"

"No." Fuji laid his head on Tezuka's shoulder. "You don't, but I'm glad that you feel like that anyways."

"Hn." The taller boy ran his hand through the tensai's hair before taking Fuji's hand in his own. "Let's go."

Fuji smiled brightly as Tezuka led him off to have dinner. Tezuka took him to an Italian restaurant and paid for the meal, refusing to allow Fuji to pay for it.

"I asked you out on this date." Tezuka frowned when Fuji kept trying to pay for at least part of the bill. "If you want to pay so much, then ask me out first next time."

Fuji laughed but finally relented.

The walk back to Fuji's home afterwards was peaceful. Neither spoke, but the silence between them was far from awkward. Each felt comfortable merely being in the other's presence.

"Thanks for today, Tezuka." Fuji turned to look at Tezuka when they finally arrived at his doorstep. "It really means a lot to me that you were willing to give me a chance."

"It's fine." Tezuka looked away, slightly embarrassed. "I owed you that much at the very least. Besides, I was able to find out why I felt differently about you."

"What do you mean?"

The captain crossed his arms. "I always felt different about you than I did with the other Regulars. Now I know why."

"Why?"

"Fuji."

"Please?" Fuji wrapped his arms around Tezuka's neck once again and looked up at the other, blue eyes pleading. "Just this once?"

Tezuka sighed but wrapped his arms around Fuji's waist, pulling the smaller boy's body against his own. He tilted down so that his lips hovered just above the other's slightly trembling ones. "I love you, Fuji Syuusuke." He breathed quietly, warm breath flowing over the lips beneath his, before taking the tensai's lips with his own.

Fuji sighed into the kiss, arms tightening around Tezuka's neck. He pulled back slightly. "And I love you, Tezuka Kunimitsu." Fuji pressed his lips against Tezuka's once again, opening them to allow Tezuka's tongue to slide into his mouth.

"Damn it, Aniki. Where the hell have you b-"

Fuji broke the kiss and looked over his shoulder to see his brother standing in the now open doorway. "Yuuta! I didn't know that you were coming home tonight. Are Kaa-san and Nee-san back from Chiba yet?"

Yuuta merely stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. "Uh…"

"Is something wrong, Yuuta?"

The younger boy's jaw snapped shut, and he whirled around, slamming the door behind him.

"Yuuta?" The two outside could hear Yumiko's worried voice from inside the house. "What's wrong? Isn't Syuusuke outside?"

"How the hell should I know?! I didn't see anything!"

Fuji giggled as they listened to Yuuta storm up to his room. "Saa, I guess they are home."

Tezuka tightened his hold on Fuji's waist. "Then you better go."

Fuji turned back to face Tezuka and sighed. "I suppose so. Goodnight, Mitsu." He quickly pecked Tezuka on the lips, disengaged himself from the other boys, and entered the house.

Tezuka stared at the door blankly. "'Mitsu?'"

Tbc...


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 6

"Fuji~!" Eiji glomped onto the smaller boy after he finished dressing for practice. "What happened? What happened?"

Fuji untangled the redhead's arms from around him. "Maa, nothing that would interest you."

"Liar! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"" He pouted cutely at the other boy. "Please?"

"Hmm…Nope. Secret."

"Fuji~!"

Fuji laughed as Eiji tugged on his jersey's sleeve. "What do you want to know?"

The acrobat paused and tilted his head to the side. "Eto, are you and Tezuka officially together now?"

The tensai smiled softly. "Yes, we are."

"Really?! Congratulations! I knew Tezuka would come around!"

"Mm. I'm glad that he did. Yesterday was the best day of my life."

"So…" Eiji looked around, making sure that Tezuka could not hear him. "Did he kiss you?"

"Eiji!" Fuji giggled. "Do look like the type of person who would kiss and tell?"

"Yes."

"Then yes. He did kiss me. He's the one who actually made the first move."

"Then did he give you t-"

"Kikumaru, thirty laps."

Eiji jumped as he heard Tezuka's voice come from right behind him. "Eh-heh. Hi, buchou."

Tezuka glared. "Forty laps."

The acrobat pouted but ran off before Tezuka could assign him any more laps.

"Fuji-"

"Syuusuke."

The captain raised an eyebrow in question.

"Call me Syuusuke. You did yesterday."

"Syuusuke, what were you doing with Kikumaru?'

"Hm? Oh, Eiji and I were just talking. Why? Jealous that I was paying more attention to him than I was to you?

Tezuka deliberately ignored the question. "Let's go."

Fuji laughed but followed his boyfriend out of the locker room

"Fuji!"

The two tennis players turned to see another third-year student standing near the courts.

"Can I help you with something?" Fuji asked politely with his usual smile in place.

"You can." The boy smiled at the tensai. "You can go out with me after classes end today."

"I'm afraid that's impossible. Excuse me. Saa, Tezuka." Fuji placed his hand on the captain's arm. "Let's go."

The bespectacled boy nodded and walked with Fuji onto the courts, which still had nearly all of Seigaku's students surrounding it.

"Wait a minute!"

Everyone stared as the boy who had asked Fuji out stepped onto the courts and grabbed the smaller boy's arm, yanking the singles two player around to face him. "Give me one good reason why you won't go out with me."

Fuji's smile dropped slightly, and he tried to pull his arm out of the other boy's grasp. "I have several reasons, and I believe that everyone here has heard of at least one of them."

The boy snorted in disbelief and tightened his grip on Fuji's arm. "I don't believe that rumor about you and Tezuka. Besides, even if you were dating Tezuka, I would make a much better boyfriend than he would."

Fuji winced as the grip on his arm tightened further. "I'm having a hard time believing that. Now I would appreciate it if you let go of my arm."

The taller boy scowled and roughly twisted Fuji's arm, causing the tensai to cry out in pain softly.

Tezuka gripped the boy's wrist and glared. "Let go."

The other wavered slightly under Tezuka's glare but tried to yank Fuji towards him instead of releasing the other's arm.

Tezuka quickly wrapped his free arm around the smaller boy's waist and pulled Fuji's body against his own. He roughly pried the other's hand off of the tensai's arm before using the same hand to gently rub Fuji's arm. "Leave." The captain's voice was a near growl. "Only members of the tennis club are allowed on the courts."

"Why don't you make-" The boy cut himself off as a tennis ball whizzed by his ear, crashing into the fence behind him.

"Heh. My bad." Echizen lifted his racket to rest on his shoulder, smirking. "It looks like my hand slipped. Ne, since you seem to be so sure of yourself on a tennis court, then do you mind teaching me some tennis?"

The third-year changed targets and stalked towards Echizen. "You little-"

"Oi, oi." Momoshiro stepped in front of the first-year, causing the older boy to pause. "That's not a good idea. Not good at all."

Kaido joined Momoshiro in glaring down the intruder to their courts. "Fssh. Bastard."

The Regulars stepped forward with the non-Regulars close behind them, making the non-member step back nervously. "Ch'. Fine. I don't give a damn anymore." He scowled but turned and left the courts.

Oishi sighed in relief and approached the top two singles players. "Are you alright, Fuji? Do you need to see the nurse?"

Fuji smiled at the vice-captain and leaned back into Tezuka. "I'm fine, Oishi. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? He gripped your arm pretty hard."

"Mm. It already feels a lot better than before."

"Really?" Oishi's eyes fell on the tensai's arm, and he realized that Tezuka was still rubbing his hand where Fuji was grabbed, as if the captain was trying to erase the other boy's touch. "Oh. Well, that good. Um…Tezuka?"

The bespectacled boy glanced over at his vice-captain.

"Did you want to start practice now?"

"Aa. Take care of things for a bit."

"Eh?"

Tezuka took Fuji's hand and led him back into the locker room before anyone could protest.

"You do realize that we're skipping practice, don't you?"

"It's fine." Tezuka turned around so that he was facing the shorter boy. "Take off your jersey."

"Mitsu!" Fuji gasped in mock surprise. "Anyone could come in and see us. Not to mention that we would get into trouble. But I suppose if you really wanted to…"

"Fuji."

"Syuusuke."

"Syuusuke, you know what I mean."

Fuji pouted. "Mou, you're no fun, Mitsu." He slipped his jersey off and held out his arm for Tezuka to inspect. "This is what you wanted to see, right?"

Tezuka quickly inspected Fuji's arm, making sure that it was not seriously damaged. "It looks like everything is okay, but I want you to sit out of practice today."

"Does that mean we're skipping afternoon practice as well?"

"No. It means that you will just be watching practice instead of participating in it."

"But that's boring. Well, unless you plan on letting Inui play with his juices again."

"I'm not."

"Then let's skip."

"I'm captain."

"Yet you're skipping practice right now."

"I'm not skipping. I'm making sure that my singles two player is fit to play when I need him to."

Fuji blinked. "That sounds like something I would come up with."

"I know. Where do you think I learned it from?"

Laughing softly, Fuji wrapped his arms around Tezuka's waist and rested his head against the other's chest. "So you knew that I was just cheering Eiji up last practice, ne?"

Tezuka wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. "I did, but Kikumaru wasn't performing at his usual standard. You were the only one able to snap him out of it."

"Aw. You just don't want to admit that you're actually really nice."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are, but it's okay if you won't admit it. That means that I'm the only one who gets to see that side of you. Too many people would be chasing after you if they knew how nice you can be."

Tezuka sighed and brushed his lips over Fuji's temple. "Whatever you say."

"Then we're ditching afternoon practice."

"Syuusuke."

"Please?"

"No."

"But I wanted to go to Hyotei!"

"Hyotei?"

"Mmhm. Apparently, the rumor started with Atobe."

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"Now can we skip?"

"No. And you can't go alone even if you won't be playing today."

"Don't you want to know why Atobe started the rumor?"

"Not enough to miss practice."

"Please?"

"No, and that's fin-" Tezuka was cut off as his mouth was suddenly occupied with Fuji's tongue.

Fuji pulled back and looked up at Tezuka, blue eyes sparkling. "Please?"

"Fine."

"Yay!" Fuji kissed his boyfriend once again. "Thank you, Mitsu."

Tezuka shook his head and sat down on a bench, pulling the smaller boy onto his lap. "Don't do anything permanent to Atobe."

"What makes you think I'm going to do something to him?"

"Just don't."

"Spoilsport." Fuji pouted until Tezuka kissed him. "Fine. I won't do anything too bad to him. Actually, I have a more fun idea than that."

"Syuusuke…"

"What? It's the perfect way to get back at him, and it won't be anything bad."

"Define bad."

"It's not illegal."

Before Tezuka could reply, they heard the other Regulars near the locker room. Fuji quickly got off of Tezuka's lap, and both began changing into their uniforms.

"Nya! Fujiko-chan~! You never came back to practice!" Eiji glomped the tensai from behind. "What were you and Tezuka doing in here?"

Fuji giggled as he once again unwound himself from the acrobat's arms. "Tezuka just wanted to make sure that I was okay."

"And that took all of practice to do?"

"Saa, Mitsu's very thorough in his inspection."

"Sure he is, and-Wait. What did you just say?"

"I said that Tezuka is very thorough."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

"No. You called Tezuka something else."

"Mm, no, I don't believe I did. You must have heard wrong, Eiji."

"But I heard you say-"

"I said Tezuka."

"But-"

"Eiji." Oishi called over to his boyfriend. "You need to change. Class is starting in five minutes."

"Nya! I forgot!"

Tezuka approached Fuji as the redhead hurried to change. "I've told Oishi that he'll be running practice today."

The tensai smiled brightly. "So that means we're free to ditch practice and go to Hyotei."

"We are not ditching."

"So you're attending to matters that need to be dealt with as soon as possible, and, because I'm not allowed to play, I'm helping you so that Oishi can run practice?"

Tezuka stared at his boyfriend.

"What? Do I need to come up with a different truth?"

"You changed ditching practice into that?"

"Well, that's what we're doing, right? You need to deal with Atobe as soon as possible to prevent any more rumors, and I'm not allowed to play. It's best for me to assist you in confronting Atobe because of that. Oishi will be free from that responsibility and can remain here to run practice for you. It's still the truth. It's just a different version of the truth that happens to sound more appropriate for the situation."

Tezuka shook his head as Fuji just stood there smiling innocently. "Come on. We need to get to class."

Fuji giggled but followed Tezuka into the school. 'Now I just need to have a talk with Atobe.'

Tbc...


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 7

The tennis courts of Hyotei and their surrounding grounds were crowded with people. Not only were the two hundred members of the tennis club present, but there were at least another hundred students there watching the practice.

"Syuusuke." Tezuka glanced over at his boyfriend as they neared the courts. "Exactly why did you insist that we change into our Regular uniforms?"

"Hm? Oh, I thought that it would be easier to gain Atobe's attention this way."

'That's an understatement.' Tezuka thought as he surveyed the crowd. Many people were already eyeing the two Seigaku students and whispering to themselves.

Fuji took note of the gossiping crowd and smirked internally. 'Maa, this will go better than I planned.' Instead of stepping directly onto the courts like Tezuka thought he would, Fuji knelt down next to a bench out of Atobe's field of vision. "Ne, Akutagawa-san, wake up."

"Mm…" Jirou mumbled, blinking sleepily. He turned to the one who woke him from his nap and instantly snapped wide awake. "Sugoi~! It's Fuji Syuusuke! Fuji Syuusuke! Fuji Syuusuke! Fuji Syuusuke!" The Hyotei player happily glomped onto the tensai tightly. "You'll have a match with me, ne? Please?!"

"Jirou!"

"Huh?" The volley specialist turned his head to see his captain glaring slightly.

At Jirou's first happy outburst, Atobe had turned to see what had woken the other boy so easily. His eyes narrowed as he spied Seigaku's top two tennis players intruding on his domain. "And exactly what business do Seigaku's buchou and tensai have on Ore-sama's courts, ahn?"

Fuji smiled brightly and entered the courts with Jirou still clinging to him. "Why so suspicious, Atobe? Can't this be a mere social visit?"

"Do you honestly think that Ore-sama is foolish enough to believe any visit from Seigaku's resident sadist is for a simple chat?"

"Mou, that's so mean. And honestly?" Fuji giggled and addressed the Hyotei Regulars that had crowded behind Atobe. "How do you stand such a harsh buchou?"

Gakuto snorted at the other's question. "The harshness is tolerable. What's really annoying is the whole prima donna-"

Oshitari quickly placed a hand over his partner's mouth. "Now, now, Gakuto. It won't do for you to upset Atobe and get kicked off the Regulars."

The redhead rolled his eyes but agreed to stay quiet.

Atobe's eyebrow twitched, and he reminded himself to make Gakuto run laps until the acrobat fainted. "Ore-sama will ask one more time why the two of you find it necessary to disrupt Ore-sama's practice."

"Well…" Fuji smiled and idly played with Jirou's hair. "There's something that I found curious. Exactly why did you start a rumor about Tezuka and me being in a relationship, Atobe?"

The silver-haired boy stared at the other captain in disbelief. "You let him come all the way here and disrupt practice for that?"

Tezuka shrugged. "Better your practice than mine."

Atobe bit his tongue in order to refrain from cursing the other player all the way to Rikkaidai and back. He quickly disguised his annoyance under his aura of superiority and looked down on Seigaku's singles two player. "To answer your question, Ore-sama thought it was pathetic how everyone was careful to tip-toe around your relationship. Seriously, it's not as if it wasn't common knowledge within the tennis circuit that you two were together."

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched. "What do you mean?"

"Ahn?" Atobe looked amused for the first time since the two Seigaku players entered his courts. "Ore-sama means exactly that, or didn't you know that your secret relationship wasn't so secret?"

Tezuka glanced at Fuji who merely shrugged and re-focused his attention on Atobe. "Is that so? Saa, that's interesting. I suppose that we should thank you for clearing the air then."

The Hyotei Regulars stared at the tensai in shock.

"Is he serious?!" Shishido ground out. "Damn. For someone who's supposed to be a tensai, he sure doesn't have very much common sense. Ch'. Gekidasa."

Atobe blinked in surprise before recovering his composure. "Ah, your appreciation is accepted."

Fuji's eyes opened a slit for only a fraction of a second, but Tezuka was able to identify the mischievous glint held in those eyes. "Syuu…" Tezuka warned softly.

The smaller boy's eyes snapped to lock with his boyfriend's, and his smile softened slightly. "Something wrong, Mitsu?"

Tezuka shook his head but did nothing to stop Fuji.

Fuji returned his attention to Hyotei's captain, whose eyes shown with amusement. "Ne, Atobe?"

"Ahn?" Atobe smirked, amusement clear in his voice.

"You should take your own advice."

The Hyotei captain frowned. "And what advice would that be?"

"Hm?" Fuji giggled and gently shoved Jirou off of him and into Atobe, who automatically caught the sleepy player. "It's annoying tip-toeing around your relationship as well. I know for a fact that Eiji and I know that you sleep with Akutagawa-san."

"Jirou."

Fuji blinked as the strawberry-blonde boy cut in. "Sorry?"

The other boy smiled brightly. "Call me Jirou. Akutagawa is way too long."

Fuji nodded and smiled. 'Maa, I don't think he realizes what I'm saying. Oh well.' He glanced at Atobe and smirked while slightly raising his voice so that the spectators could hear more clearly. "Is something wrong, Atobe?"

The taller boy gaped slightly. "What…did you just say?"

"Well, you do sleep with him, right?"

"No!"

"Yes you do!" Jirou pouted and stared up at his captain, clinging to the other's jersey. "You slept with me last night, remember? None of my family was home, so you told me to stay with you."

"Jirou." Atobe growled, glaring at Fuji who was biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing. "This is neither the time nor the place to discuss this."

Tears welled up in the smaller boy's eyes. "You don't want to sleep with me anymore?" His voice was soft, but it rang clear throughout the courts that had fallen dead silent.

"Jirou, that's not what-" Atobe's rush to placate his singles two player was cut off by several loud shrieks.

"Atobe-sama! No! Say it's not true!"

"Kya! They're so cute together!"

"No! Atobe-sama was supposed to marry me!"

"Congratulations, Akutagawa-san!"

Atobe grimaced as the screams got louder while his Regulars snapped out of their shocked state.

"Holy shit!" Gakuto screamed over Atobe's fangirls. "Jirou, why the hell didn't you tell me you were together with Atobe?!"

"So Atobe-buchou and Jirou-senpai are…" Ohtori blushed and swayed slightly until Shishido placed a hand on his arm to steady him.

Jirou blinked at the chaos that erupted in and around the courts. "A-re?" He blinked up at Atobe. "What are they getting so worked up about?"

"Fuji!" Atobe snarled.

Fuji just giggled and waved, taking Tezuka's arm. "You might want to explain things to your boyfriend, Atobe. Seriously, if you didn't want anyone to find out about your relationship, then you shouldn't sleep with Jirou-san in such public places, like the street courts. Oh well. It looks like this is a Hyotei matter, so we'll just be leaving now. Bye!" Fuji quickly dragged Tezuka off of the courts and Hyotei's campus, passing many students rushing to the courts on the way out. "See?" Fuji looked up at Tezuka expectantly. "I was good."

Tezuka stared at the smaller boy. "You call announcing to hundreds of people that Atobe was having sex with Akutagawa being good?"

"I never said that. Everything I said was the truth. Atobe does sleep with Jirou-san. I can't be held responsible if some people take that out of context."

"Syuusuke, anyone would think that you meant sex and not actually sleeping."

"Jirou-san didn't." Fuji laughed. "I guess he's pretty innocent, ne? That really did turn out better than I thought it would."

"Syuusuke." Tezuka scolded.

"Mou…" Fuji pouted. "What happened to 'Syuu?'" He tilted his head down and looked up through his eyelashes uncertainly. "Is Mitsu upset with me?"

Tezuka sighed but gave Fuji a small smile. "No, and you're still my Syuu."

"Yay!" Fuji bounced back quickly. "So, do I get a reward for being good and not doing anything permanently bad to Atobe?"

"What type of reward do you want?"

"Well, Kaa-san and Nee-san are out of town again, and Yuuta refuses to come home for some reason. So…I'm all alone tonight." He wrapped his arms around Tezuka, blue eyes sparkling. "Ne, Mitsu? Do you mind sleeping with me tonight?"

Tezuka chuckled softly and pressed a kiss against Fuji's lips. "I suppose I can do that. After all, I guess you do deserve a reward for being good for me."

"Does that mean I can be bad tonight since I was good this afternoon?" Fuji smirked, nibbling on Tezuka's neck gently.

"Hn. We'll see."

The end.


End file.
